China’s commerce ministry has now also issued a statement (in Chinese) about the January 7-9 trade negotiations. It is even less detailed than the American statement, as expected, and consists mostly of this one sentence, per Xinhua translation:

Both sides have actively implemented the significant consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and conducted extensive, in-depth and detailed exchanges on trade and structural issues of common concern.

Other links to check if you’re following the trade war and related issues closely:

Good overview of negotiationsChina offers Trump a trade peace deal. It may not be enough. / NYT (porous paywall)In addition to its overview of the current stakes in talks, the piece also notes: “Chinese lawmakers last month released a draft of a proposed law that would stop local officials from forcing foreign companies to transfer their technology as a cost of doing business…The law may not change things meaningfully, said Donald Clarke, a specialist in Chinese law at George Washington University. The draft is vaguely worded, he said, and doesn’t acknowledge that the pressure American companies face to share their know-how often comes from behind-the-scenes maneuvering rather than strict government requirements.”

German business lobby raises alarmGerman business calls for tougher stance on China / FT (paywall)“In a strongly worded policy paper, the BDI said Germany’s liberal, open model was increasingly in competition with China’s ‘state-dominated economy’ and needed to protect itself more effectively from Chinese companies.”

Wang Qishan weighs inChina’s vice president urges deeper U.S. cooperation after talks / Bloomberg (porous paywall)“‘As Chinese-U.S. relations stand at a new starting line, it must stay committed to our original aspiration and focus on coordination, cooperation and stability,’ Wáng Qíshān 王岐山 said at a reception in Beijing on Thursday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China and the U.S. establishing diplomatic ties. ‘We must adapt to the new reality, keep looking for and expanding our common interests, deepening and promoting practical cooperation.’”

“Thousand Talents Programme” no longer advertised after U.S. scrutinyChina hushes up scheme to recruit overseas scientists / FT (paywall)“Late last year, the government ordered civil servants and recruiters not to discuss by name the ‘Thousand Talents Programme’, under which thousands of scientists and experts have been attracted to China with lavish grants.”

Chinese investment in the U.S.Chinese investors ‘facing severe situation in the US’ / SCMP“In its sixth annual report evaluating country-specific investment risks, the Institute of World Economics and Politics, a government think tank under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, ranked the United States investment environment as number 14 out the total of 57 countries, a drop of 10 places from a year ago…Zhang Ming, who led the research for the institute, attributed the downgrade to the trade war that started last July as well as a number of deep-seated problems.”

Lucas Niewenhuis is an associate editor at SupChina who helps curate daily news and produce the company's newsletter, app, and website content. Previously, Lucas researched China-Africa relations at the Social Science Research Council and interned at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He has studied Chinese language and culture in Shanghai and Beijing, and is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

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